Resourcing schools to address educational disadvantage
The OECD Review of Resourcing Schools to Address Educational Disadvantage in Ireland has been published. The review examines resource allocation to tackle educational disadvantage at school level and makes a series of recommendations to improve support provided to students at risk of educational disadvantage in both DEIS and non-DEIS schools in the education system. The review notes that Ireland has an education system that consistently outperforms many other OECD countries and exhibits relative socio-economic fairness. However, the review highlights that despite continued improvements over the past decade, important differences in outcomes persist between DEIS and non-DEIS schools and for children and young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds, and Travellers and Roma.
OECD Review of Resourcing Schools to Address Educational Disadvantage in Ireland - main findings
Ireland demonstrates strong performance in reading, mathematics and science, and equity outcomes internationally across primary and post-primary levels. Moreover, the socio-economic gap in educational attainment is narrower than on average across OECD countries. The education system outperforms many other countries and exhibits above-average socio-economic fairness and equity.
However, despite these accomplishments, differences in outcomes persist for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, and Traveller and Roma students. Similar to other countries, gender gaps are also visible, particularly at the post-primary level. Despite improvements over the last decade, gaps between DEIS and non-DEIS schools persist. The review also finds that the ‘right to costless basic education’ needs further review.
Teacher shortages particularly affect students in disadvantaged schools and areas. The shortage of teaching staff remained significantly more pronounced in disadvantaged schools, a difference that was among the largest observed in OECD countries. Staff shortages within Ireland’s schools are compounded by those of relevant external support services (e.g. NEPS and Tusla staff) on which schools rely to support their most disadvantaged students in particular.
Recommendations
Governance of policies to address educational disadvantage
- Strengthen the coordination and integration of services across departments to better support students at risk of educational disadvantage.
- Promote further the sharing of good practices in the education system and across schools in the area of educational disadvantage.
Resourcing schools to address educational disadvantage
- Further strengthen access to free education.
- Continue refining and validating the indicator(s) of social disadvantage underpinning the targeting of DEIS resources.
- Examine scenarios to attenuate the adverse effects of key thresholds in the DEIS classification algorithm.
- Extend partial additional support to all students defined as disadvantaged.
- Prepare the periodic updating of the indicators of social disadvantage to develop a more dynamic resource allocation model.
Capacity building for schools to address educational disadvantage
- Address staff shortages through targeted efforts to attract and retain diverse professionals for a career in disadvantaged schools.
- Embed teachers’ continuing professional learning within a professional improvement cycle and remove barriers to participation.
- Focus capacity-building efforts on priority areas both in and around DEIS schools.
School-level interventions to address educational disadvantage
- Strengthen equity in provision of additional resources across schools.
- Strengthen the coordination of educational services with the health and therapy service provision to minimise the burden on schools and families in meeting students’ needs.
- Review additional costs of education to families to improve the accessibility of provisions.
- Promote promising models and examples of engagement and collaboration with parents and families.
Monitoring and evaluation to address educational disadvantage
- Promote research that could provide more information on the causal effects of the DEIS programme.
- Strengthen the use of data at the school level.